Chemistry
by Strawberry'd
Summary: HeijiKazuha. They say alcohol breaks down barriers...


**Chemistry**

a Heiji/Kazuha fic (for fireblazie, duh)

They say alcohol breaks down barriers...

* * *

Heiji and Kazuha didn't expect to see the other at the police function their dads always attended. Heiji thought Kazuha would have other plans, with her high school girl friends. Kazuha thought Heiji would definitely find this kind of thing boring and uneventful, preferring to read a mystery novel instead.

So when they did bump into each other in the middle of the crowded room, it was a bit of a shock, and relief. At least, in this crowd of unfamiliar faces, they had each other.

It was a semi-formal event, but that didn't stop Kazuha from remarking on Heiji's choice of clothes.

"A suit, Heiji? Really? You own one of these?" She smirked.

"I can say the same for you too, ahou!" He waved a hand at her attire. "You actually own dresses?"

"I wear dresses all the time!"

"No, you wear weird sweater vests and boots."

"What's wrong with boots?!"

Heiji was dressed in a sharp dark grey suit. His shirt was starkly white against the tan of his skin and the darkness of his suit. He wore a skinny black tie. Kazuha privately thought Heiji looked extremely handsome in formal wear, but she was definitely taking that to her grave.

Kazuha, for her part, was wearing a forest green dress that fell to her knees. It had skinny straps holding it to her shoulders, and gathered at her waist, accentuating the curve of her breasts and hips. Her hair was up, not in its customary ponytail, but a loose bun, with wispy tendrils that floated by her face.

Heiji was NOT about to admit to anyone how lovely he thought she looked tonight.

They actually had not seen much of each other these days. Heiji went to Tokyo University, while Kazuha attended Kansai University. Saying the two schools were far would be a bit of an understatement, but Heiji came home often enough, and Kazuha visited him and Ran in Tokyo too.

This was a rare occasion that the two of them had met randomly, being so often in different cities.

They left their argument and began talking amiably about school and friends and current events. They wandered the event hall and picked at the food the waiters brought around (well, Kazuha picked at it, Heiji stuffed his face). Every now and then, they stopped to greet an old friend of their fathers. The exchange would always end with a question about their current relationship, to which Heiji and Kazuha would vehemently deny.

It was not lost on people how handsome a couple they made: Heiji, tall, lean, and good-looking, with an easy smile, and Kazuha, slender and pretty, her bright green eyes always sparkling with humour.

A waiter carrying a platter of tall, elegant champagne flutes stopped by them. Heiji picked one up for himself and Kazuha, offering it to her. She took it with a murmured thanks, and they clinked glasses.

"To our dads!" Heiji grinned. Kazuha grinned in reply, and they both drank the bubbly, sweet champagne.

Before long, the number of conversation topics dwindled, and Heiji was a loss for what to talk about. He mentioned how nice it was to spend some time together, and Kazuha smiled so prettily in response, he felt a hot flush begin at his neck and immediately looked for an escape.

He threw back the rest of his champagne suddenly. "Ah, there's Otaki-han, I should really go say hello!"

Kazuha stared at the spot Heiji was just standing in. He had crossed the room rapidly, clasped the older man by the shoulder, and animatedly greeted him.

She drank the rest of her champagne in one go as well, feeling the familiar prickles of annoyance that came with spending too much time with Heiji. She looked around for a place to put down her glass, when a waiter came by with another tray of them.

Oh, why not, she thought, and grabbed another one.

* * *

Heiji talked to Otaki-han for a little while, about university life, his parents, his detective work. They both ate whatever was brought to them, their small dishes laden with food. When a champagne tray was close by, Heiji reached out to grab one, but Otaki stayed his hand.

"Heiji! You're a grown man now. You shouldn't drink champagne!" Otaki had had his fair share of champagne that evening, if his ruddy complexion were any indication. "Get the boy a stronger drink! Scotch!"

Heiji personally thought he was 20 years too young to be drinking scotch, but he did not decline the glass of amber liquid.

He sipped the scotch, half-enjoying how it burned his throat on the way down, half-missing the sweet champagne. He didn't think he would like it so much if it weren't an expensive and well-aged bottle.

"So Hei-chan, do you have a girlfriend now?" Otaki said with a smirk. He knew just as well as anyone that Heiji and Kazuha were a fated match, but it was awfully amusing to see him sputter and choke when the topic arose.

"Nah," Heiji took another sip, "the girls at school are kinda..."

"Not pretty enough?"

"Noooo... They're plenty pretty, it's just..."

Try as he might, Heiji couldn't think of a good enough reason why he wasn't interested in any of the girls at school. They were definitely interested in him, but he never returned the favour long-term.

"Are they not smart enough for you, Hei-chan?"

"It's TouDai, Otaki-han, I'm pretty sure they're all smarter than me." Heiji twisted his lips in thought. Then it dawned on him, yes! That had to be the reason!

"Well, then what could it be?"

"They're from Tokyo, Otaki-han! I need a girl from Osaka, who can speak Kansai-ben and likes takoyaki as much as me." Heiji finally understood why no one from his university was particularly attractive. "She can't be too passive, like some Tokyo girls are. And she should also know how to take care of herself."

Otaki looked thoughtful. Maybe Heiji wasn't as clueless as everyone thought. "What about Kazuha-chan then?" he ventured.

Heiji looked outraged. "That fussy, bad mannered, loud-mouthed girl?! No way! She's like the complete opposite of what I like!"

"I don't know, Hei-chan, you kind of just described Kazuha-chan."

Heiji swallowed his last mouthful of scotch, as if in protest. "Otaki-han, you know I don't like disagreeing with my elders, but I really disagree with you on this one. I'm gonna go find my dad."

Otaki stared after the younger man with amusement. "Hei-chan, nothing pleases you more than disagreeing with your elders."

* * *

Heiji hadn't planned on it, but by the time he had reached his father, he had had three more glasses of champagne. He could feel his heart beating loudly in his head, and found he couldn't focus on things as well as he could just an hour ago.

Even at university, Heiji didn't drink much. There were better things to do, like study and solve murders. As such, he was afraid he had a notoriously low alcohol tolerance. At least he didn't turn bright red like most of his friends.

Hattori Heizo pounced on his son, grinning widely. "Heiji! Just who I was looking for! Toyama and some of the other guys and I are going to go play Mahjong at Steve's. Can we depend on you getting yourself and Kazuha back home safely? Knew it! See you tomorrow, son!"

"What? Mahjong? Steve!? Who the hell is Steve?" But his father was already long gone.

Resigned, Heiji went off to look for Kazuha. He figured there were worse things than hanging out with your best friend. But when he found her, he was NOT pleased.

Kazuha was cozied up to another guy, giggling at whatever he had just said. She had a dopey looking smile on her face, and couldn't stop that damn giggling.

Heiji was still halfway across the room from them. He shoved his way through the crowd, jostling arms and plates.

Ah, he recognized who the son of a bastard was. That Yuuto kid, the son of Kazuha's dad's ex-partner. Last time they saw him, he was a pimply, short teenager, with greasy hair and a lisp. Well, look who had grown up all nice and fit and tall, Heiji's mouth twisted in a sneer. Yuuto had apparently gotten contacts, better skin, and rid of his lisp as well.

And just WHAT was Kazuha doing, falling all over herself talking to him. He growled low in his throat and then -

Kazuha's dress strap slipped off her milky white shoulder, and before she could fix it, Yuuto dared to touch her himself and slowly draw her strap up on her shoulder.

Heiji saw red. "Kazuha," Heiji said loudly, pushing Yuuto aside with his shoulder "accidentally" and grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him with the most adorable - nope, nope, not adorable - confused look. "Kazuha, we're going now."

"Heiji?" Kazuha said, turning towards him and slipping slightly. Heiji just noticed the black heels on her feet. Yuuto reached out, as if to steady her, but Heiji wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her against him. Yuuto was NOT going to touch Kazuha again if Heiji had any say in it.

"Heiji?" Kazuha repeated, her voice rising in pitch. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

"We're going now, Kazuha. Your dad told me to take you home." Heiji released her, but kept an arm around her waist. He tugged at her to follow him.

"Heiji!" Kazuha stumbled again. She fell against Heiji again and there was a second or two when her scent (light, floral, sweet) enveloped him. Then she pushed against him and straightened. "What exactly is my dad doing? Where is he?"

"He went to go play mahjong with some of the other officers, Heiji explained, keeping one eye on Yuuto, who was watching them with bemusement.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll go home then," she turned to Yuuto to say goodbye presumably, but Heiji whisked her away. If she said another two words to THAT guy, he was going to kill something.

"Hei-ji! Would you please slow down!" Great detective that he was, Heiji apparently failed to notice how his quick pace was faring with Kazuha. With every step away from that bastard, he felt his head clearing. He sheepishly slowed down, and peered at her feet. "Why do girls wear those stupid things anyways? Aren't they uncomfortable?"

"Well, yes, but they look nice," Kazuha stuck one foot out and shook it. "Doesn't it look nice?" she giggled.

Kazuha's shaking shook other... things... which made Heiji realize how closely they were pressed together. He then practically flung her away.

Kazuha stumbled again and he reached out to steady her. She leaned on his arm and said, "I guess it doesn't matter what you think." Heiji tried not to focus on how nice it felt with her pressed against him.

"W-what?" he sputtered.

"Yuuto told me they looked very nice!" she sing-songed. "He told me he thought I looked especially nice today too!"

Heiji felt his chest tighten, and took a few calming breaths. "What if... I told you I thought you looked nice too?"

"I'd think you were drunk," she answered seriously. "You never say stuff like that."

With that, Kazuha straightened again and let go of Heiji's jacket. She started to walk but her heels tripped her up. She giggled uncontrollably, recovering her balance. "Heiji! I think I'm drunk!"

Yes, they were both quite drunk. Heiji could feel his brain working slower, his eyesight not being as sharp, his reflexes faltering.

"I'm drunk too, 'Zuha, but at least I'm not wearing heels." He caught her around the waist again, uncomfortably acknowledging how good it felt, his arm around her.

She leaned against him again, her hair tickling his face, and despite his inebriation, memories of another time her hair had tickled his face rose. This time though, there was no sense of overwhelming disaster, of fear, of not being able to say things he wanted to say.

They exited the hotel the function had been held in. Kazuha flailed her arms around, trying to hail a cab. "Kazuha, there are a bunch right over there," Heiji said with a laugh.

"Right! Thank you, great detective!" Heiji shook his head ruefully as he helped Kazuha hobble along to the cab. She gave the driver her address and they were off.

"Wait, that's not the address of your house," Heiji said.

Kazuha nodded. "It's my apartment. I told my parents I was going to go back this weekend to finish up a paper."

Heiji shrugged, and settled in for the ride, Before long, he felt Kazuha slump beside him, fast asleep. She burrowed into his arm, one hand lightly clutched onto his wrist, her mouth opening slightly.

So unattractive, Heiji thought, rolling his eyes. Still, he wrapped an arm around her to keep her warm, and stroking the soft skin of her shoulder, closed his eyes as well.

He was rudely awoken by the cab driver. Blearily, he paid the fare and got out, having to drag Kazuha with him. While the nap seemed to restore his mental capabilities, Kazuha was still as incapable as ever.

She giggled all the way up the stairs to her small, well furnished, one-person apartment. She tried, without success, to open the door. She even tried to knock on it, as if someone would come.

"Ahou," Heiji muttered, with a hint of affection, and took the keys from her. They stumbled into the apartment and Kazuha kicked off her shoes the instant they were inside.

"Ow, ow, ow," she cried, hobbling to the couch. She flung herself down with a great sigh of relief.

Heiji made his way to the kitchen. The finger food at the party was exceedingly salty and he craved some restorative beverage. He found a pitcher of fruit punch in the fridge and gulped down two glasses before realizing it wasn't fruit punch.

"What is this?" he demanded to the owner.

Kazuha laughed when he showed her the pitcher. "Heiji! You drank my leftover sangria!"

"Sangria, as in _wine_?" Heiji looked horrified at his mistake. Just when he had been sobering up...

"Well, now that you brought it out, let's finish it. It's been in the fridge for like four days."

Sangria, it turned out, became more potent as time went on. Usually Heiji could hold a few glasses of wine, but after those two rapidfire glasses and the third Kazuha pressed into his hand, he was feeling extremely tipsy.

They spoke to some length about their fathers and how going off to play mahjong was so unlike them. Why, it was as if they took a leaf out of Uncle Mouri's book!

"I should really get to bed," Heiji said, holding his cold glass against his warm face. It was a cool summer night outside, but in Kazuha's fourth floor, poorly ventilated apartment, it was quite warm. He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves up in an attempt to cool down, but Heiji still felt overly warm in his face, and hands, and feet, and... other places.

"Heiji!" Kazuha grabbed his hand and held it to her face, smiling. "You should just spend the night here."

Heiji flushed. "Did you need to take my hand to say that, 'Zuha?"

"Your hand is cold, Heiji and it's so hot," She said in explanation.

Heiji didn't feel cold in the slightest. But what she said was true; the trip home would be arduous and it was already - holy crap, was it already 4 am?!

He made up his mind. "Okay, Kazuha, I'll stay the night," he said, and stood up to wash up. As soon as he did that, all the alcohol immediately rushed to his face and he slid down to the floor. "Ughhh," he moaned, clutching his head, "I definitely drank too much."

"Heiji, are you okay?" Kazuha had crawled over to where Heiji was slumped against the couch on the floor. She held his face and looked into his eyes.

Her face was WAY too close for him to handle right now. She looked concerned, and pretty, and her eyes were so close, and so big, and her lips...

Crap, he thought, as he took her slender frame in his arms and pressed his lips against hers. Crap, crap, crap. She opened her mouth in surprise and he kissed her deeper, delving into her mouth with his tongue. He knew this was bad, but it felt so good that it couldn't be all that bad, right?

She tasted like sangria and champagne and strawberries. Easily, he pulled her hair arrangement loose and her hair tumbled down her back, tangling with his hands.

She clambered onto his lap and pressed against him fully, trying to get even closer. They continued to kiss, almost desperately, as if if they stopped they could die.

They parted and drew ragged breaths. Kazuha pulled Heiji's tie over his head, and started to unbutton his shirt. Heiji's heart was pounding. It was as if years-worth of unconscious desire finally let loose and he couldn't get enough of her. He grazed her neck with his teeth and tongue, stilling her fumbling fingers, causing her to moan. There was a delicious junction where her neck met her shoulder which he suckled and began pushing the thin straps of her dress down her small shoulders.

"Heiji," she moaned. She slipped out of the dress straps and let it fall, to pool around her waist. Her shoulders were bare as she was now clad in only a strapless, cream-coloured lace bra.

She reached for Heiji and he bent down over her, their lips sliding over each other softly, gingerly. The heated kisses from before had melted into sultry, slow caresses. "Heiji," Kazuha breathed into his kiss. He leaned into another but she pulled back, out of his embrace.

She stood up, allowing the dress to fall down to the floor. He gaped at her. She pulled at Heiji's hands until he also, staggering, stood up. Then she pushed him down on the couch and straddled him.

If Heiji was warm before, he was definitely going to burn to a crisp now.

Heiji could only stare up in wonder at this beautiful, sexy woman who was on top of him. Was this the same person he grew up with and shared his toys with and who followed him on his detective adventures? Because that same person was now deftly disrobing him.

With unhurried motions quite like their previous encounter, Kazuha tugged his shirt out from the waist of his pants, and began slipping button after button out of its stubborn buttonhole and kissing the skin that this revealed. She continued in this vein, until she got to his navel, at which Heiji regained his senses and took her hands in his.

"Kazuha," he said in a husky voice, with much more control than he thought he had, "are you sure?"

She looked at him for a long moment, her green eyes piercing into his. In response, she leaned down and kissed him, fiercely.

"Heiji," she panted, "if you don't understand how sure I am right now, you're more of an ahou than I ever gave you credit for."

He grinned cheekily at her and kissed her again, and again, and again...

* * *

The next morning Heiji woke up hungover with a stiff neck, a sore back, and an unquestionably content feeling that seemed to have settled deep into his very bones that night. And the reason for that was draped over his chest, curled up, and snoring lightly.

He took a moment to watch how the light shifted over her face and how her lips parted slightly when she exhaled. The next moment, he became extremely aware of how naked they were, and then, he panicked.

"Oh my god," he muttered, "oh my god, oh my god."

He gently pushed her off of him and stumbled out of bed (they had somehow gotten to the bed last night). He gathered his clothes (strewn all over the living room) and tried not the blush at the sight of Kazuha's delicate black underwear hanging on the edge of the coffee table.

He had just finished buttoning his shirt when Kazuha came out of the living room wearing an old worn t-shirt that fell to her knees looking quite panicked. Almost as panicked as he felt.

"Oh my god, Heiji, did we, was that, oh my god." She swept her hands through her slept-in hair and only managed to make it look more adorably (no, not adorable, not adorable) messy.

"It's okay, it's going to be fine," Heiji said, his voice cracking slightly.

"Oh my god, did we use a condom? What if I'm pregnant!" Kazuha whirled around and grabbed his shirt. Their eyes met and for one heart-pounding moment, Heiji really wanted to kiss her. But she let go and the moment was gone.

"You're not pregnant, we did use a condom - wait. Why do you even have condoms?" Heiji's panic disappeared as his mind focused on this new observation. "You live alone, so they have to be yours, what are you doing with a box of condoms, Kazuha?" His voice increased in volume.

She flushed. "It's not like we're children, Heiji, I can own a box of condoms!"

He took a big breath and tried to rid himself of the growing fury he felt. This was something he had to look into later.

"Anyway," she said uncomfortably, "we can just write this off as a silly drunken mistake, and no one has to know, and don't you dare tell Kudo!"

"Right," he nodded in agreement, her words echoing what he had been thinking, even if his heart twinged slightly. "As if I would tell Kudo stuff like this."

She muttered something he couldn't quite make out, but sounded something like, "attached at the hip" and "two of a kind".

"Okay," she took stock of the room, trying not to look at her discarded clothing and undergarments, picked up his remaining suit jacket and shoved it into his arms. "Better get home before your parents freak out." It was nearly noon and his parents probably figured he stayed over at Kazuha's anyway. That had such a different meaning now, Heiji mentally cringed.

"I think we should talk about your sexual partners," he said, unable to keep quiet, "I could've caught something!"

She gave him a scornful look. "As if! You probably have had way more! You knew exactly what you were doing and do you really think I don't take care of myself?"

He had to give her that. He slipped on his shoes and tried once more. "How many? Just give me a number."

"NO." She opened the door for him. He stepped back and then whirled around.

"Wait, whose shirt is that? Is that a guy's shirt? That's not my shirt. Kazuha, whose shirt are you wearing?!"

"Good BYE, Heiji." And slammed the door in his face.

She wearily picked up her clothes and threw them into her laundry basket. The sangria glasses went into the sink, and the condom wrapper, oh god, went into the garbage. Then she sank into her couch - where they, oh god, his tongue was, she had, oh god - and started to cry.

It wasn't as if she was in love with the guy, but she had been at one point, and the loss of that innocent crush was a bit of a blow. They were adults, and had made an adult mistake, and that was completely fine. It wouldn't hamper their friendship because they weren't teenagers anymore and this sort of thing happened.

She wiped her eyes on her shirt (actually it was Heiji's, he had forgotten about it) and stood up.

It was fine.

* * *

Weeks passed before Heiji and Kazuha met again. He had sent her a few texts in the days following. Silly, meaningless messages about how hungover he still was, or that he didn't get the Happy Meal toy he wanted to, and Kazuha replied as she naturally would have. The conversation wasn't stilted or awkward or weird, but Kazuha had to take a bit longer to come up with a reply than she should have, and his emoticons seemed more forced than usual. Neither of them wanted to address the elephant in the room that was their lives and as such, life went on like it did.

Kazuha was celebrating the end of their grueling exams with a few classmates at the pub downtown. They were halfway through their third shared pitcher when Heiji walked in - with a woman.

Kazuha didn't even notice him until one of her friends nudged and pointed at them. "Isn't that your friend, the famous detective?"

She twisted in her chair and saw them, her eyes surprised, and then narrowing. "So it is," she said, trying not to care too much about the pretty girl with the low-cut blouse and perfectly straight hair that was currently smiling at Heiji. Briefly she wondered why he was back in Osaka when he went to school in Tokyo.

"Did you guys never have a thing?" Kazuha's attention was brought back to her friends at the table.

"Me and Heiji? Oh no, never!" Kazuha smiled and lied through her teeth. That wasn't really a thing, just a drunken mistake.

"I'm surprised, most of my friends with close guy friends like that ended up hooking up sooner or later."

Kazuha forced another careless grin. "Nah, we're not like that. We don't have that kind of chemistry."

The friend shrugged, filling up their glasses. "Good for you, keeping it all separate like that. Hooking up can really ruin friendships."

"Yeah," Kazuha murmured her agreement, thinking of the last time she and Heiji had seen each other, weeks before. She lifted her glass to the table. "To hookups!"

"To hookups!" Came the resounding response.

* * *

If Heiji wasn't mistaken, it sounded like Kazuha just toasted 'hookups'. WHAT was that all about, he longed to know. He had noticed her as soon as he walked into the pub, and his ears were pricked at her conversation. He tried to force his attention back to his interviewer, wondering why she had picked a crowded, rowdy restaurant to talk.

"Sorry, what was that?" He asked politely, sipping at his water.

"I asked if you'd like anything a bit stronger than water," she laughed.

He frowned. "Is that okay? Aren't you technically working?" He wanted a drink, desperately trying to ignore Kazuha's presence behind him.

"It's a Friday night, we can have one beer!"

Well, who could argue with that?

An hour and a half later, he was three pints in and she had only asked him a few relevant questions. For a budding journalist, she wasn't very keen on the proposed topic. Instead, she kept asking him more personal questions about his family, friends, and love life. It was getting rather tedious, and he had turned to drink to power through it.

"So, who was your latest conquest?" She asked, red lips curved up in a smile.

"You mean, work wise?" Please, please be work related.

"No, silly! Girls, girls. Anyone you're interested in? Do they chase you quite a bit? I bet they do, such a good looking man like yourself!"

He fought the urge to glance at Kazuha. "No, not really. I'm more interested in getting my degree and helping the police with cases as they come up. You wouldn't believe this last case I was involved in - "

But she cut him off. "Heiji, be honest with me. You're seen quite often with Kudo, another quite famous young detective. Is there anything... there?"

Was his hearing going or did this woman just ask if he and Kudo were an item? Did she think he and - that he could be - that he was gay?

"Lady, you're crazy." He pushed back his chair and grabbed his coat. "Kudo and I are nothing. I like girls. This interview, if you could call it that, is over. Thanks for wasting two hours of my life."

He stalked off to the back, intent on finding a bathroom and tried to shake the disgusting feeling that arose when he thought of Kudo and him, TOGETHER.

He scrubbed his hands as if that could proverbially wash away the sour taste in his mouth that the meeting left. He vigorously dried them too, and felt a bit better.

He then pushed the bathroom door open to find Kazuha stepping out of the ladies' bathroom across the narrow hall.

"Heiji!" She stammered, looking awkwardly like she wasn't trying to be awkward. "Fancy running into you here. What are you doing back home?"

He was too annoyed with the evening to be awkward with her.

"Exams finished, just came to see the folks. I've had the worst night, let's grab a drink." He took her by the hand and, first making sure that woman was gone, made a beeline for the bar.

He ranted at length about the "interview" and the interviewer, and Kazuha felt a peculiar sense of righteousness. Miss Perfect Hair turned out to be not so perfect after all.

"Another pint for you guys?" The bartender asked them, taking their empty glasses. Heiji acquiesced without consulting Kazuha, and before she knew it, it was last call and they had had a wonderful evening catching up and being normal.

She smirked inwardly. Hookups may ruin friendships but solid friendships like theirs were unruinable.

They paid their tabs and stood up. Or, in her case, slid off the bar stool ungracefully. Heiji grinned down at her on the floor.

"Bit drunk, are we 'Zuha?" He offered her a hand.

She grimaced and took it, but with a surprising amount of strength in one so petite, pulled him down on the floor with her.

"Ugh, it's wet and sticky down here!" Heiji fell half on top of her, trying not to crush her by catching himself on his hands and knees. But, as a result, he got beer all over himself.

"That's what you get for mocking me!" She replied, a satisfied smile on her face.

Heiji could feel the the length of her slender leg pressed against his and he was overwhelmed with the need to kiss that smug look off her face.

So he did.

They made out on the dirty floor in the pub until the staff kicked them out (pressed against her on the floor, her hands snaking through his hair as he kissed up and down her neck), then in the cab to Kazuha's apartment (she straddled his lap as his hand stole up and around, under her shirt and toyed with the edge of her bra, the other hand stroking the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, making her gasp), and then in front of her building while she searched for keys (he distracted her from her purpose, holding her from behind, sucking on her earlobe, and then licking that beautiful edge between neck and shoulder).

Not once did it cross their minds that this was probably not a good idea. In fact, because of how it made them feel, they thought it was a very good idea indeed.

And so, the next morning found Heiji and Kazuha in an extremely similar situation, with tangled limbs and fierce hangovers.

"We really need to stop doing this. Maybe we should talk about it," Kazuha said bravely.

"Shhh, my head hurts too much to even think." Heiji moaned and rolled over. He flung an arm over her face to stifle the words.

She deflected with her arm and ended up wrapped in his arms and cocooned by his body.

"Let's just... stay like this," he muttered. "It's too early to talk."

It was 1pm but Kazuha wasn't going to argue. She was slightly hypnotized by the steady rhythm of his heart, beating against her back.

He absentmindedly kissed her shoulder and her heart flip-flopped in reply.

Shit.

* * *

It became apparent to Heiji that something was wrong when, a week and a half later, he caught himself thinking of Kazuha's perfect ankles and the way they crossed around his torso when they - hm.

He shifted awkwardly in line and tried to be distracted by whatever they were selling on the counters. The guy in front of him was talking to the cashier loudly about a scandal in the news, but Heiji could only see Kazuha's hair, spread in a messy array on the pillows, the way she arched her back when he found a particularly sensitive spot, or when she got embarrassed and curled up, only to be relaxed with a tickle or two.

Amazingly he got through the ordeal, his purchase clutched in one hand (why had he needed a screwdriver again?), and dug his phone out of his pocket when it began to vibrate.

"Kazuha? What, your parents are out of town?" Heiji slung his backpack onto one shoulder and walked out of the store. "Wanna make dinner or something tonight? I'll pick up some wine."

Then, plans confirmed, he got onto his bike, a small smile playing around his lips that refused to go away.

* * *

They found more reasons to hang out and drink, and subsequently, to hook up. This happened so frequently that when Kazuha realized that Heiji had started leaving a toothbrush at the apartment, she decided they definitely needed to talk about it.

"Heiji," she began nervously one morning as he lazily kissed her neck from behind. "Are we like, dating now?"

He paused, heart skipping a beat, and wrapped his arms around her waist more securely. "I guess so."

She exhaled. "And you're okay with it?"

He was kissing her ear now. "Yeah." He was surprisingly very okay with it. Much more appropriate than _Kudo_. He shuddered lightly.

"And you promise to always be big spoon?"

"No way! I like being little spoon sometimes!" He felt her hands grip his arms. She laughed breathlessly and he felt slightly breathless at the sound.

"Kazuha," Heiji said suddenly, remembering something. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like takoyaki?"

"Pft, like 15, off the scale."

Heiji grinned. "Thought so."

* * *

**End**

Wooooo, a new fic from me, finally! It's been a hella long time coming. This fic has been in the works for YEARS. This is an extremely late multiple birthday and Christmas present from me to my darling Naddy (aka fireblazie)! May the fire of your writing never blaze from the internet, or.. something. I love you!

And to everyone else, Merry Christmas!


End file.
